The Going Rate: Ground Beef

For lots of folks, Memorial Day weekend means firing up the barbecue and grilling some burgers (or steak, or chicken—but we're focusing on hamburgers here). To help you plan your shopping, Patch researched the price of ground beef on the Island.

But before we get into that: Deep down inside I believe in buying locally produced, organic beef whenever possible, because I think it's better for the cattle, better for the environment and better for human health. For this story, though, I also included conventional ground beef, which is generally less expensive.

There are a lot of different kinds of ground beef out there. I chose two to research: conventional 80 percent lean ground beef and organic ground beef. And I gave you a range of prices for each store.

Your choices for ground beef on the Island include:

• Estancia Free-Range, Grass Fed Ground Beef: $5.19/pound. 
• Harris Ranch Lean Ground Beef: $3.99/pound

• Ground Sirloin: $5.99/pound
• Eel River Ground Beef: $6.99/pound

• Raley's Dailies 80 Percent Lean Ground Beef: $2.58/pound
• Organic Prairie Grassfed Ground Beef: $6.99 pound

• Extra Lean Ground Beef: 50 percent off usual price of $2.99/pound
• Organic Prairie Grassfed Ground Beef: $7.99 pound

• Trader Joe's  Butcher Shop: $2.49/pound
• Trader Joe's Organic Ground Beef: $6.49/pound

Bottom Line: This week Safeway has both the least expensive ($1.50/pound) and most expensive ($7.99/pound) ground beef. Also, prices for organic ground beef at the independent butcher shops are about the same—or even lower—than at the supermarkets.